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Welcome to the arc Thrift blog. Join us every week to read about thrifty DIY projects and thrift shopping tips, go behind the scenes with the arc Thrift team and ambassadors, and get really inspired by our mission!

There are always tons of beautiful furniture pieces when you walk into an arc thrift store. If there are imperfections or cosmetic issues you might wonder whether or not you should buy a piece. I’m a big believer that as long as you have a great piece of furniture to start with, you can always paint/fix/tweak whatever is needed.

Wood furniture can be the easiest to spruce up. A lot of times all a piece needs is a bit of a restoration or minor repair around the edges. When I get a new piece of wood furniture from arc, my first step is always to clean it. I use a special soap made just for wood that won’t dry it out.

The next product I use is Restor-A-Finish. It comes in different stains and it’s like a refresh for your wood.

You rub it onto the furniture like you would a stain and it helps darken any light spots that have occurred because of bumps or scrapes. There are a variety of tints based on the kind of wood you are working with.

It doesn’t make them invisible but it definitely makes them far less noticeable.

The final product that I use is Feed-N-Wax. It’s by the same makers as the Restor-A-Finish and the two are meant to be used together. The Feed-N-Wax moisturizes the wood and shines it up so that it glows. You buff it on and wait a bit and then wipe off any remainder with a rag.

You can see in the pictures below how the scratches are less noticeable from left to right, in the wood that’s gone through all three steps.

It really helps with wear along the edges of a piece of furniture due to normal use and transport.

Needless to say, you should not let a few scratches or a little bit of damage deter you from buying a great piece of furniture from arc thrift. I found my favorite piece at an arc thrift store and it cleaned up beautifully for my home.

Many times, the items that I buy at Arc thrift stores are for organization. I have lots of little dishes and trinket boxes for storage that I have thrifted at Arc.

But I do not have a ring holder for next to the sink when I am doing dishes. I started hunting for one recently and when I did not find one right away I decided I would make my own. I found a small saucer with a great pattern from one of my favorite arc thrift stores.

Then I managed to find a small ceramic unicorn for only $.69 to be the actual ring holder.

I liked how it looked with the unicorn set straight on the plate but I decided I wanted to fancy it up a bit and paint the unicorn gold to match the pattern on the saucer. After painting it I used glue that bonds ceramics to glue the unicorn down.

I love how unique it is to my home since I thrifted the pieces separately and put it together myself. That is my favorite thing to do with items from Arc.

Sangre De Cristo Volunteers for the Community raised $750 by participating in arc’s Buck a Bag fundraiser in 2017. They will use the funds to further their renovation of an old outdated golf course clubhouse into a community and nature center for our area. The building was built with environmentally responsible construction and forward-looking innovations. When completed, it will be a demonstration building for green renovation, as well as an attractive amenity for much of Southern Colorado, with public, private, and community-oriented events. Plans include a nature and environmental center, a local-history area, classrooms, and performance spaces, among other amenities.

With the beginning of a new year comes a chance to start fresh and get organized. I have several little areas of my home that are constantly cluttered and I want to finally get them under control. I hit a few Arc Thrift stores for some furniture and organization inspiration!

I found this big bookcase at the first Arc I went to for only $9.99.

At the same store I found these two storage chests, $14.99 for both.

These looked great on the outside and had tons of storage inside. They’d be perfect to hold blankets or pushed together as a coffee table.

I ended up finding this little bookcase/record stand at the Arc Thrift store closest to my house for only $4.99! It needed a quick dusting but it was ideal for the storage that I needed.

I filled it with books and it tucked perfectly into a corner by a window. There were so many options at Arc Thrift stores and all of them were very affordable. I will definitely be heading back to Arc soon for more organizational projects.

Did you know you could turn your donations into cash for your favorite nonprofit cause? Not only can you help support arc Thrift Stores and our important mission of helping individuals living with an intellectual or developmental disability, but you can raise money for a cause that is near and dear to your own heart as well.

The fundraiser program is called “Buck a Bag”. It is easy. Just bag and box up your unwanted household items and clothes. Schedule a pickup or drop off with me. Provide me with a copy of your nonprofit organization’s w9, and then receive a check within 2-4 weeks. Easy peasy, right?

Over the past 7 years, arc Thrift Stores has given over 2 million dollars to local nonprofits through our fundraiser programs. This is an incredible opportunity that you should not miss out on. Homeschool Etc. (https://chec.org/hs-groups/homeschool-etc/) can attest to the benefits of this amazing program. They have raised over a thousand dollars for school supplies for their kiddos.

This is a wonderful time of year to schedule your first “Buck a Bag” fundraiser and to give back to arc Thrift Stores and your favorite nonprofit cause. Please contact me to schedule your first fundraiser.

Please call Miranda Halverson at 720.323.5079 to set up your own Buck-A-Bag Fundraiser.

In terms of decorations for holidays, Thanksgiving doesn’t always rank very highly on the list. However, a Thanksgiving centerpiece is always great in the middle of the dining table. I found some great options at arc thrift this week for turkey and fall-themed centerpieces.

My favorite option for the table is this blue mason jar ($1.99 at arc) filled with fall-themed floral picks ($2.99 for a whole bag of them).

The floral picks have mini pumpkins on them, gourds, leaves and fruit. The bright fall colors look really great with the blue glass.

Another funky option I found is this giant ceramic turkey dish ($4.99 at arc thrift).

It’s super kitschy and fun, and the top lifts off so that it can be filled.

Anything fall-themed would look great inside but I think I’m going to fill the whole thing with buckeyes or nuts in their shells.

There are so many options at arc thrift stores right now that you’ll definitely be able to find something to fit your individual style and brighten up your holiday table on Thursday.

Halloween is not just for humans. Unfortunately for Darla, it is also for pets. I shopped for my very unwilling model at arc Thrift Stores and found some awesome costumes. There were tons of options at the store I went to so I had plenty to choose from.

My favorite arc Thrift Stores costume find was the Broncos shirt, although it was definitely her least favorite because it had to go over both of her front paws. She was not a happy camper.

I also loved the clown costume and it was very easy to put on since it was just around her neck and on her head.

She didn’t seem to mind the turtle shell too much, although if looks could kill I would definitely not be alive after this photo shoot.

I found all of these costumes at one arc Thrift Stores and they were each $3.99 or less. Let the pet costuming begin!